UK employees can claim tax relief on certain work-related expenses they pay personally, but the rules changed for the 2026/27 tax year.
From 6 April 2026, employees can no longer claim directly from HMRC for additional household costs caused by working from home. The previous £6-a-week homeworking relief has ended for new costs, although eligible claims for earlier tax years may still be possible.
Tax relief can still apply to qualifying business travel, mileage, uniforms, specialist clothing, tools, approved professional subscriptions and certain equipment.
Generally, the employee must have paid the cost themselves, the expense must meet HMRC rules, and the employer must not have already reimbursed it.
Tax relief also does not usually refund the full expense. For example, £100 of qualifying expenses for a 20% taxpayer would normally provide £20 of tax relief. Employees can check eligibility using HMRC’s free work-related expenses checker.
How Does PAYE Work for Employees?
Most UK employees pay Income Tax through Pay As You Earn (PAYE).
Under PAYE, the employer deducts Income Tax and National Insurance from wages before paying the employee. The employee’s tax code helps determine how much Income Tax should be deducted.
When someone starts a new job, the employer will normally use information from the employee’s P45 to establish the appropriate tax code. If there is no recent P45, a Starter Checklist can be used instead.
At the end of the tax year, an employee who is still working for that employer should receive a P60, normally by 31 May. The P60 records pay and tax for the tax year and can be important when checking whether too much tax has been deducted or supporting a tax refund claim.
Employees who want to compare HMRC’s records with their payslips can also check their wages, PAYE income and tax code through HMRC.
Which Work Expenses Can Employees Claim Tax Relief On?
There is no single rule allowing every expense connected with employment. Each category has its own conditions.
The main areas employees should check are business travel and mileage, uniforms and tools, professional subscriptions and qualifying equipment.
Business Travel and Temporary Workplaces
Employees may qualify for tax relief when they have to travel as part of their job.
Examples can include:
- Travel to a temporary workplace
- Public transport for qualifying business journeys
- Hotel accommodation required for business travel
- Parking, tolls and congestion charges associated with qualifying journeys
- Food and drink bought while travelling to a temporary workplace where the relevant conditions are met
Ordinary commuting between home and the employee’s normal permanent workplace is not normally allowable.
There is also an important distinction for meals. Lunch bought while travelling to the employee’s normal workplace cannot simply be treated as an employment expense.
HMRC’s current guidance says food and drink expenses may qualify when travelling to a temporary workplace, but employees cannot claim for food they brought from home.
What Are the Employee Mileage Rates for 2026/27?
There has been an important change for the current tax year.
For 2026/27, HMRC’s approved mileage rates for an employee using their own vehicle for qualifying business journeys are:
| Vehicle | Approved rate for 2026/27 |
| Car or van – first 10,000 business miles | 55p per mile |
| Car or van – above 10,000 miles | 25p per mile |
| Motorcycle | 24p per mile |
| Bicycle | 20p per mile |
The first 10,000-mile car and van rate was 45p before 6 April 2026, so employees making claims for earlier years need to use the rate that applied during that tax year.
If an employer already pays some mileage allowance, the employee may only be able to claim tax relief on the qualifying difference rather than claiming the full mileage amount again.
Employees should maintain mileage records showing the business purpose, date, distance and journey details.
Can Employees Claim for Uniforms, Work Clothing and Tools?
Tax relief may be available for cleaning, repairing or replacing qualifying uniforms or specialist clothing, as well as repairing or replacing certain small tools needed for work.
A uniform is more than ordinary clothing required by an employer’s dress code. HMRC gives examples such as clothing identifying a particular occupation and specialist clothing such as overalls or safety boots.
Employees generally cannot claim for:
- The initial cost of ordinary work clothing
- Everyday clothes, even where a certain colour or style is required
- Clothing or tools already provided by the employer
- A more expensive replacement chosen instead of equipment the employer already provides
- Washing a qualifying uniform at home when the employer provides a free laundry service that the employee simply chooses not to use
That final point is easily overlooked. Choosing to wash a uniform privately does not create an allowable expense where a free employer laundry facility was available.
For some occupations HMRC has agreed flat-rate expenses, meaning an employee may not need receipts when claiming the approved fixed amount.
Employees should check HMRC’s current occupation-specific list rather than relying on an old generic figure because allowances can differ between jobs.
Are Professional Membership Fees and Subscriptions Tax-Deductible?
Some are.
An employee may be able to claim tax relief where:
- The professional membership fee must be paid to carry out the job, or
- The employee pays an annual subscription to an HMRC-approved professional body or learned society and membership is relevant to the employment.
The employee must normally have paid the fee personally. A fee already paid or reimbursed by the employer cannot be claimed again.
However, trade union fees are not treated in the same way as qualifying professional subscriptions.
HMRC’s current employment-expenses campaign specifically lists union fees among costs that cannot be claimed as an employment expense.
Employees should therefore check that the organisation is on HMRC’s approved list rather than assuming every work-related membership qualifies.
Can Employees Claim Tax Relief on Tools and Equipment?
Potentially, but only under specific conditions.
HMRC says tax relief may be available on substantial equipment an employee has to purchase to perform their work where it is required for the job and there is no significant private use.
Smaller tools may fall under the separate uniform, clothing and tools rules.
An employee cannot normally claim simply because they prefer a better laptop, chair, tool or device than the one already supplied by their employer.
This distinction is important because the test is not whether something makes work easier. The expenditure must meet the relevant HMRC conditions.
Can Employees Claim Training and Course Fees?
Employees should be particularly careful with self-funded training.
Paying personally for a course does not automatically create an allowable employment expense, even when the subject is closely connected with the employee’s existing occupation.
HMRC’s Employment Income Manual states that a deduction should not normally be given for external education paid for by an employee because the expenditure is generally not incurred in performing the duties of the employment.
A limited exception can arise where attending the external training is itself an intrinsic part of the employment duties.
This is different from employer-funded work-related training. Where the relevant conditions are satisfied, work-related training paid for or reimbursed by an employer can be exempt from tax.
Employees should therefore avoid assuming that any course which improves their job skills can simply be entered on a P87.
Can I Claim Back Tax for Working From Home in 2026?
For new homeworking costs incurred from 6 April 2026 onwards, no direct employee deduction is available from HMRC.
The government removed the Income Tax deduction for employees’ unreimbursed additional household costs from the beginning of the 2026/27 tax year.
This includes the previous system under which eligible employees could claim using the £6-per-week fixed amount or qualifying actual additional expenditure.
How Did the £6-a-Week Working From Home Relief Work Before April 2026?
For eligible periods ending no later than 5 April 2026, qualifying employees could claim relief based on:
- £6 per week, or
- The eligible additional household costs actually incurred, supported with the required evidence.
The £6 figure represented the expense amount on which tax relief was calculated. It was not a £6 weekly cash payment from HMRC.
For example, under the old system a basic-rate taxpayer claiming relief on £6 would generally receive tax relief worth £1.20 for that week.
Employees may still be able to make eligible claims relating to the four previous tax years.
Can Employers Still Pay Working From Home Expenses?
Yes.
The April 2026 change removed the employee’s ability to claim a deduction from HMRC for unreimbursed household costs.
It did not abolish the separate rules allowing employers to reimburse eligible additional homeworking costs without deducting Income Tax or National Insurance where the relevant conditions are met.
There was also a separate change from 6 April 2026 allowing employers, subject to the qualifying conditions, to reimburse certain homeworking equipment, qualifying eye tests and VDU-specific corrective appliances without an Income Tax or National Insurance charge.
Employees working remotely should therefore check their employer’s expenses policy rather than assuming they can claim unreimbursed homeworking costs directly from HMRC.
What Work Expenses Cannot Employees Claim?
Some of the most common rejected claims arise because an expense feels work-related but does not meet HMRC’s actual rules.
Common examples include:
- Normal commuting between home and a permanent workplace
- Lunch bought while travelling to the employee’s usual workplace
- Food taken from home on a business trip
- Ordinary everyday clothing required by a dress code
- Uniform washing where a free employer laundry service is available
- Union membership fees
- Costs already reimbursed by the employer
- A preferred replacement for equipment the employer has already supplied
- Unreimbursed homeworking household costs arising after 5 April 2026
- Self-funded training merely because it improves skills or career prospects
- Private or mixed-use expenditure that does not satisfy the relevant rules
HMRC also warns that eligibility for homeworking relief changed after the exceptional COVID-era arrangements. Someone who qualified during the pandemic should not assume the same eligibility continued in later years.
How Much Tax Can an Employee Actually Get Back?
Tax relief and reimbursement are not the same thing.
If an employee has £500 of qualifying expenses, HMRC does not usually send them £500.
The tax saving depends on factors including the amount of allowable expenditure and the employee’s Income Tax rate.
HMRC gives the example of a £60 qualifying expense for someone paying Income Tax at 20%. The resulting tax relief would be £12.
For a qualifying claim relating to the current tax year, HMRC will commonly adjust the employee’s tax code so less tax is deducted from future pay.
For a previous year, HMRC may either change the tax code or issue a refund.
This means an approved expense claim does not necessarily result in a bank repayment.
Who Can Use Form P87?
Form P87 is primarily used for employee job-expense claims handled through PAYE rather than through a Self Assessment return.
For a postal P87 claim, HMRC currently states that:
- The claim must be within four years from the end of the relevant tax year
- The employee must have paid tax in that year
- Total employment expenses being claimed for each tax year must be £2,500 or less
- If employment expenses exceed £2,500 for a tax year, a Self Assessment return is required instead.
Importantly, the £2,500 threshold relates to the expenses being claimed, not the amount of tax refund expected.
An employee who already completes a Self Assessment return should normally claim qualifying employment expenses through the tax return instead of submitting the same expense separately through the ordinary employee-expenses process.
How Can Employees Claim Tax Relief From HMRC?
The safest starting point is HMRC’s official eligibility service.
Employees can use the free HMRC work-expenses eligibility checker to identify which expenses may qualify and what evidence is required.
A practical process is:
- Check whether the expense qualifies.
- Check whether the employer has already reimbursed it.
- Identify the correct tax year.
- Collect receipts, invoices, mileage records or other supporting evidence where required.
- Check whether the claim belongs in the PAYE expenses service/P87 or Self Assessment.
- Submit the claim directly through HMRC.
- Check the tax code afterwards to make sure any ongoing allowance remains appropriate.
Employees should retain appropriate evidence rather than relying on an online calculator or third-party company’s estimate of what they could claim.
Beware of Tax Refund Companies and Expense-Claim Agents
Employees do not need to pay a tax refund company simply to check whether ordinary job expenses qualify.
HMRC specifically warns employees about online adverts and tax refund businesses offering to submit work-expense claims in return for commission. The employee remains responsible for the accuracy of the tax claim even if somebody else submits it.
HMRC’s current campaign includes an illustrative example involving a healthcare worker who was told a uniform-expense company could claim £200.
The company retained £80 in fees. HMRC later found that the employee was not eligible, meaning the employee had to repay the full £200 plus interest and could not recover the £80 agent fee because of the agreement he had signed.
That illustrates why the size of an advertised refund should never be taken as proof that the underlying expenses qualify.
How Can Employees Check a Tax Agent Before Using Them?
HMRC recommends taking several precautions:
- Search for independent customer reviews
- Check whether the adviser is accredited by a recognised professional body
- Read all terms, conditions and disclaimers carefully
- Understand exactly how fees and commissions are calculated
- Never sign a blank tax return
- Review any tax return or claim before approving it
- Be cautious if the company does not ask for supporting evidence
- Never give a tax agent a Government Gateway ID
- Remember that HMRC does not endorse individual tax agents.
A Government Gateway login should be treated as private account information rather than something handed to a refund company.
What Are the Deadlines for Claiming Employee Tax Relief?
Employment-expense claims are generally subject to a four-year time limit from the end of the tax year being claimed.
A useful current example is the 2022/23 tax year, which ended on 5 April 2023.
An eligible employee who has not already claimed qualifying expenses from that year would normally need to make the claim by 5 April 2027.
That is much more useful in 2026 than the previous article’s 2020/21 example, whose April 2025 deadline has already passed.
For old working-from-home claims, employees should remember that the relief itself ended for new periods from 6 April 2026. Only qualifying earlier periods remain potentially claimable.
What Happens if a Tax Code Is Wrong After an Expense Claim?
Employees should not assume that receiving tax relief once means the same adjustment should remain indefinitely.
HMRC warns that some employment expenses can be carried forward into a later tax code. If the employee changes employer or the conditions of the new job differ, an old expense allowance may no longer be appropriate.
For example, an employee might previously have paid an approved professional subscription personally but move to an employer that now pays the subscription in full.
If the old tax-code adjustment remains, the employee could receive relief they are no longer entitled to.
Checking PAYE wages and tax-code information held by HMRC after changing jobs can therefore help identify outdated adjustments.
What if HMRC Approves a Refund but the Money Has Not Arrived?
A successful previous-year claim may eventually result in a repayment rather than a tax-code adjustment.
Employees whose HMRC account already shows a repayment but are waiting for payment can check what a bank repayment pending HMRC status means.
Where HMRC has already moved the repayment to an issued status, the separate explanation of how long an HMRC repayment can take after it is issued covers the next stage.
These are different issues from deciding whether an employment expense qualifies in the first place.
Conclusion
The answer to “what can I claim back on tax as an employee?” changed materially in April 2026.
Employees can still potentially receive tax relief for qualifying business travel, mileage, uniforms, specialist clothing, tools, approved professional subscriptions and certain necessary equipment.
The mileage rules have also changed, with the approved car and van rate increasing to 55p for the first 10,000 business miles in 2026/27.
Working from home is now different. From 6 April 2026, employees cannot make new direct HMRC claims for unreimbursed additional household costs, although eligible claims for the preceding four tax years can still be made within the applicable deadline.
Employer reimbursement arrangements continue under separate rules.
Employees should also be cautious about third-party tax refund businesses. An agent submitting a claim does not transfer responsibility away from the taxpayer, and HMRC provides free tools allowing employees to check eligibility and make many claims directly.
The safest approach is to check the exact expense against current HMRC guidance, retain supporting evidence and review the employee’s tax code after the claim has been processed.
FAQs
Can employees still claim £6 a week for working from home?
Not for new costs from 6 April 2026 onwards. The direct employee homeworking deduction ended, although eligible claims for earlier tax years may still be possible.
Can an employee claim tax relief for travelling to work?
Ordinary commuting to a permanent workplace is normally excluded. Qualifying travel to temporary workplaces or travel undertaken as part of the job may be allowable.
What is the mileage rate for employees in 2026/27?
For an employee’s own car or van, the approved rate is 55p per business mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p thereafter.
Can employees claim trade union fees?
No. HMRC currently distinguishes union fees from qualifying subscriptions to approved professional bodies.
Can employees claim training course fees?
Usually not where the employee simply pays for external training personally. Different rules apply where training is intrinsically part of the employment duties or is funded or reimbursed by the employer.
Do employees get all their work expenses refunded?
No. Tax relief usually reduces the Income Tax payable on the qualifying expense rather than reimbursing the entire expense.
Can Form P87 be used for more than £2,500 of employment expenses?
No. Where total employment expenses for a tax year exceed £2,500, HMRC says the claim needs to be dealt with through Self Assessment.
How far back can an employee claim work expenses?
Generally, eligible employment-expense claims can be made within four years from the end of the tax year concerned.
Should employees use a tax refund company?
It is optional, not required. HMRC provides free eligibility and claim services, and employees remain responsible for claims submitted by an agent on their behalf.
